Deschooling 101
So many of us grew up in traditional school systems that revolved around strict routines, constant structure, and limited flexibility in curriculum or assignments.
This is why whether you’re a new homeschooler or a veteran, sometimes we all get stuck on very narrow definitions of what learning "should" look like.
Even though we've chosen to undertake an alternative approach, and committed to home education for our families, we often pass those same traditional models and ideas down to our kids, whether it benefits us or not. New homeschoolers often start off building their homeschools to look and function just like school. And long-time homeschoolers can stress about gaps, testing, and keeping up with grade level standards.
Sometimes, we all just need a little Deschooling.
Deschooling 101
Deschooling is the process of allowing yourself and your children time to transition away from the routines and structures that are so often found in traditional school systems.
It can be especially helpful for children coming out of school and into homeschooling for the fist time. It's also a great process for any parent who feels that their structures, routines, or expectations of home education are feeling too much like school and not enough of home.
The length of this process can vary from family to family. Some may need a couple of weeks, others a couple of months or more. Start slowly and see how it goes.
Signs You May Need to Deschool:
Your child is brand new to homeschooling and coming out of a traditional school system.
Your children are regularly resisting or giving pushback over assignments.
Your child lacks the motivation and ability to keep themselves occupied without being regularly told what to do and/or monitored.
Your child doesn't know what their interests, passions, or hobbies are.
You or your children are feeling anxious about standards, gaps, testing, and other traditional methods of measuring a child's learning.
You treat your homeschool like a school and behave more like a teacher or principal than a parent.
5 Tips for Deschooling:
Forget the curriculum! (at least for a little while)
Take a break from formal lessons, assignments, and tutoring. Use that time to explore all the things your children would like to do if they didn’t have to do anything at all.
Focus on building connection with your children
Connect with your kids! Connect with our kids! Connect with your kids!
Spend more time doing things together
Spending time together helps give you a front row seat into the things that drive your child. Play the games they like to play, read the books they like to read, watch the movies they like to watch. Don’t interrogate, just participate, observe and reflect.
Keep mental notes of patterns and strong interests
Did you notice your child likes to learn through movement? Or maybe mainly through visuals? Did leaving off formal reading assignments let them explore a book genre you didn’t know they were interested in? How did they choose to spend their time?
Educate yourself on different approaches to learning and home education.
Think about the ideas you have about what learning and education should look like and start getting some new perspectives. John Holt’s books are a great start!